Project Goals:

• The main objective for this project is have a UNIX-type system working at home to facilitate research.  More specifically:
• Linux installation should be running on a second hard-drive.
• Linux should not disturb the existing Windows 95 installation.
• It should use as much of the existing hardware as possible.
• Networking should be provided via the cable modem.
• Apache web server should be running when the Linux system is booted.
• X-Windows should run by default when system is started.
• I should be able to connect to school to do research as if files were local. (e.g., remote files should be treated as local files during editing by running local copy of emacs).

 

Problem	Linux crashes repeatedly during installation.
Solution	On www.redhat.com, new boot and supplemental disk images were provided to solve the problem with the installation process that I observed.  I downloaded these images and created the disks per their instructions and it solved the segmentation fault errors that had given me trouble.
Problem	XFree86 did not recognize my AccelGraphics AGP Video Card
Solution	The video card is probably too new for XFree86.  From old systems I had two other PCI graphics cards.  I installed each one and ran Xconfigurator.  Both were detected so I used the one that produced the best quality images in X-Windows.
Problem	Since I did not want to disturb Win-95, I skipped modifying the boot sector.  The installation program then forced me to reboot.  Thus, I had no way to get to my Linux partition.
Solution	I found that the following command allowed me to boot from boot diskette into my installed partition.  "linux root=/dev/hdb1 initrd="
Problem	The Linux installation could not detect my network card.
Solution	The network card is an Intel EtherExpress 10+ which is supported.  I looked on the web on a FAQ section and found that Linux has trouble detecting Plug-and-Play ISA cards.  I downloaded the configuration utility from Intel's web site and disabled Plus-and-Play, per Linux's suggestion, but this still didn't help.  Finally I purchased an Intel EtherExpress 100+ PCI network card and it was detected without a problem.  I have only two ISA slots in my machine so I prefer using a PCI network card anyway.
Problem	Once in Linux, networking failed to work.  Also, the method of booting required too much user intervention.
Solution	I tried perhaps a hundred different options but none of them would get networking to function.  Finally I created a boot diskette by first using the rdev command then copying this new image to /dev/fd0.  Once I booted from this disk, networking functioned properly.  This must mean that the boot diskette's kernel options do not allow for networking.  This new boot diskette solved both problems.
Problem	With networking up and running, I can now telnet to the machines at school.  Now when I type emacs <file> I get an error message saying that the remote machine could not display on my machine.
Solution	Before telnet'ing to the remote machine, I run the command "xhost + <remote-machinename>".  This command tells my local machine to "trust" the remote machine.  I can thus run commands from a terminal window on another machine and have the results displayed locally.
Problem	Now that networking has been figured out, I wanted my IP address to be dynamically assigned.  My ISP dynamically assigns IP addresses via DHCP.
Solution	When installing networking, I noticed the Setup using BOOTP option.  I reinstalled the OS and checked this option.  This asked for my hostname, domain name, and backup DNS server.  Linux, upon booting, listened for any BOOTP devices on the network and dynamically determined my IP address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway.
Problem	My ISP provides thename "CC329250-A.twsn1.md.home.com" as the hostname for any machine I connect to the cable modem.  This name is somewhat long and hard to remember.  I wanted another name to use which would still resolve to my Linux machine's IP address.
Solution	I went to www.ml.org which is an organization that provides free domain names.  After registering with them I gave them my network and host information.  I was able to select a new domain name which they propagated to all DNS servers for me.  I selected *.microcommconsulting.ml.org as my domain.  This allows any service (ftp, www, etc.) to be mapped to my home Linux machine.

 

Still to be fixed:

• I still do not have Linux/Win95 using the new AccelGraphics AGP video card.  Accellerated-X may solve the problem.  Since both Linux and Windows-95 run on the same hardware, I can't use the good video card in Windows-95 either.
• Networking sometimes is disabled when I go to use it.  I have to disable then enable networking through the control panel to get it to work again.
• I have to manually type in xhost + <client-name> for every client that I want to use xemacs in.  I need to figure out which file to store these commands in.
• Common telnet destinations need to be stored in the X-Windows menus.  I need to figure out which files to modify.
• I have yet to even try to get my Boston Accoustics sound system to work under Linux
• My Colorado 5GB tape backup system is found but not yet supported.  This seems strange to me that it knows exactly which model it is but still doesn't support it.  I'll probably see if I can compile in support for it.